Soul Based
by Tobi wants a kunai
Summary: Yu Narukami wakes from freeing the quiet town of Inaba of the Fog and Izanami. Though, he can't seem to remember anything from his time there besides the power of his soul: Persona. [Gamer powers]
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, it's me… again. Look, I know I haven't worked on EM in a decent amount of time. I've been burnt out from writing that, so I thought a new story would help with that. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. We'll see, I guess.**

**Anyway, welcome to Soul Based. I'm making it a crossover between Persona (specifically 4) and RWBY. Hope this works out as well as it sounded in my head. Also, pardon if there are missing 'H's, my H key is a bit bugged and I might miss the errors when I proof read.**

**Without any further ado, I don't own either of the franchises. So… here we go!**

* * *

'_Yu Narukami. That's my name… right?' _I thought to myself, shaking my head groggily. '_Yeah… that's gotta be it' _With that in my mind, I sat up to look around. '_Where am I? And why can't I remember anything?!'_ I yelled mentally, looking at my sylvan surroundings. I stood up, surveying the quiet clearing. I patted myself down to see what I had on my person. All I had on me was my Yasogami uniform, my glasses, and my katana. '_At least I got a weapon just in case…'_

Faint sounds of birds chirping echoed through the silence. I decided to try to climb up a tree to help see where I was. Branch by branch, I managed to see enough through the leaves. Lifting my free arm up to shade my eyes from the bright sun, I scanned the horizon, stopping as soon as I saw the skyscrapers. '_Just gotta make it to there…'_ I hopped down off the tree and started to walk towards the city in the distance.

On my way there, I tried to recollect my memories. The most I could muster out of the fog of my mind were three things:

I have a being I can summon from my soul called a Persona. I can't remember the name...

I was fighting beasts inside of a TV.

I was getting help from a man named Igor and a woman named Margret.

With those three shards now in my head, I came to the conclusion that I must be inside the TV somehow. Shaking my head, I increased my pace in case the beasts were in this seemingly peaceful forest. Every so often, I'd hear rustling in the shrubs beside me. This only encouraged me to move faster. '_Gotta move quick. No use dying here now that I need to get my memories back.'_

* * *

After about an hour of jogging toward the city, I heard something growing closer behind me, stalking me. Stopping in my tracks, I turned around and prepared myself. Steeling my nerves, I braced for impact as a wolf-like beast leapt out of the trees. Taking a blow from the beasts tackle, I rolled to absorb the impact. I drew my katana and charged towards the jet-black beast. Dodging the slow and clearly choreographed attacks of the wolf, I slash upwards, cutting deep into it. The beast howled in pain and jumped away from me. It started to circle me, looking for an opening.

"No more games…" I whispered. Closing my eyes and focusing on the truth bubbling from my soul, a card bestowed itself to me. I reached out towards it. "The time… is now!" I shouted, crushing the card in my hand.

"Persona!"

* * *

_[Meanwhile]_

"Sir, there seems to be a burst of Aura coming from the north side of the Emerald Forest," a blonde woman said, handing a tablet to a grey haired man. He declined to look, simply lowering it.

"Glynda. That's not Aura… Can I trust you in checking out what caused this?" The man said, sipping his coffee.

"Of course, sir. I'll be off," Glynda said, quickly leaving the office.

* * *

Rising from my soul came Izanagi of the fool arcana. The summoning blew back the wolf a few yards. I smirked, "Zio!" I commanded, with Izanagi unleashing a bolt of electricity upon it. Seeing my chance, I rushed forward at my target. The beast was still paralyzed, leaving it open to a dual attack from Izanagi and I. Lunging with my blade in hand, my persona and I cleaved through the demonic wolf. What was left was nothing but the fading remains of my enemy.

As I sat down to rest, Izanagi retreated back to my soul. "Way too much excitement for a guy who just woke up, huh…" I muttered before being hit with a surprise; a screen popped up in front of me. '_What the…?'_

**[Level up! You and (Main Persona) Izanagi are now Level 2!]**

**[HP: 150/150]**

**[SP (AP): 75/75]**

**[Exp: 50/200]**

**[New skill! Raikouzan (Light Electric attack): You can now fuse some of Izanagi's power of lightning within your blade!]**

**[Memory gained! Multiple Personas: You remember you can somehow hold more than one persona within your soul!]**

**[Lien gained: 400]**

**[Close]**

'_... I'm hallucinating from not drinking enough water, yeah?'_ I thought, tapping the little 'Close' button and the screen disappeared. '_But that little box was right, I suddenly know how to use that attack and that memory did come back… Considering all the weird stuff that happened in the past few hours, why should I even be surprised?'_ I mused, laying down against a tree. Last thing I saw before embracing unconsciousness was a blonde woman with glasses and a riding crop walking towards me.

* * *

I opened my eyes only to be greeted by Igor and Margaret seated in the limo.

"Welcome to the Velvet room. It seems your journey as our guest has taken quite a turn," Igor said, waving his gloved hand.

"Indeed. It is still my duty to help you during these trying times. I will provide assistance when necessary," Margaret said in her monotone voice. "I sadly cannot assist you with your memories, but I can help explain the new power you had gained in this new world," she said, opening her book. "It seems you have awakened a visible form of seeing your progress. I'll simply call it the "Gamer" ability, as it displays itself as if your life was now a game. That is all I can tell you as of now, I'm afraid," she smiled as she closed the book. "Oh, and be sure not to seduce every girl you happen to meet in this world, intentionally or not. Farewell."

And darkness had its hold of me once again.

* * *

**Et voila! Whatcha think? Good? Bad? Downright shitty? Any thoughts are appreciated, really. I just need to get back into writing, in all honesty.**

**Anyway, that was the first chapter of Soul Based. No beta reader this time around, RIP me, amirite? I tried to incorporate the RPG mechanics of the Persona series. I'll keep it to a minimum, really. I plan on it only coming into play for skills for the personas and not for Narukami himself. That being said, skills that buff/debuff will still be able to be learned, including healing moves (Dia, Media, Diarama, etc.). So I hope this'll play out well as I hope!**

**Sincerely your dumbass writer,**

**Tobi**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh. Looks like we caught ourselves a sneaky writer who can't seem to finish any of his stories.**

**Anyway, on with the second chapter. **

**Changes: SP is now Stamina, and MP is now Mana. Basically, I'm balancing the Game.**

**Phys Skills will take SP instead of HP. This applies to elemental phys attacks like Raikouzan.**

* * *

"-nd you said you found him nearby the large burst of Aura?" I heard a man's voice ask as I opened my eyes. Bright light blinded me for a moment. I lifted my arm up to try to cover my eyes and block out the light.

"That is what I said, was it not?" A blonde woman replied before turning towards me. "And it seems you are awake," she said while the grey haired man behind her walked towards me.

"Please, tell us your name, would you?" he asked.

"Uh, sure," I said, nodding. "My name is Yu Narukami."

"I see. Glynda, please check the records for anyone named Yu Narukami," the man ordered the now named Glynda. "I'll talk to him while you do so."

"On it, sir," she said curtly, leaving the room. The older man sat down in a chair across from me.

"Now that we are alone. I expect answers to any and all questions I have. Understood?" the larger man commanded, squinting his eyes slightly. I nodded, wondering who in the world I was talking to… then a box appeared in front of me.

**[You have unlocked the skill "Observe"]**

**[Observe (Lvl 1): Allows for the user to see the health, aura, and magic parameters of any being within 40 Lvl's of the user. Allows user to see titles and classes within 20 Lvl's of the user. No limit on Name.]**

'_There it is again. Seriously… is this just some hallucination?'_ I questioned mentally.

**[This is reality. You may want to accept it soon, as a certain four-eyes is trying to get your attention.]**

'_And now it talks... '_ I stared blankly at the box for a moment before redirecting my focus to the man in front of me, apparently his name is Ozpin… No level, no title, no class, no nothing. '_Not someone to mess with, if this is real.'_ "Sorry, I zoned out there for a second."

"Hm, alright," Ozpin said, taking a sip from a mug that must've materialized out of nowhere. "Anyway, Mr. Narukami, I would rather appreciate if you could explain what you were doing prior to your loss of consciousness."

"I woke up in a forest with no recollection of anything besides my name. A weird black mutated wolf attacked me for no reason, I killed it with my katana an- actually, you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you."

The man leaned in closer, "No, please go on. I must admit, the amnesia part is rather laudable, however, I have no other choice but to believe you as of right now," he adjusted his glasses.

"Here goes… Basically I can summon these things called Personas. I don't know why I can, nor do I understand how a god from Shinto mythology is inside me, but I don't question it," I tried to explain, seeing no change in expression from the man in front of me.

**[You really think this stoic man will show what he's thinking?] **

'_Shut up, you.'_

**[Make me.]**

'_You know damn well I can't,'_ I grumbled mentally. "Moving on, these Personas have abilities that work like magic. Lightning, fire, ice, wind, force, nuclear, psycho, light, curse, and almighty. I have no idea how this works, but it does."

"Hm… I see. I would ask you to show me, but from my deduction, this power causes a massive surge of energy around you…" Ozpin sighed. "My last question: do you wish harm upon this land, or any land, for that matter?" he asked me with a very serious voice.

"No, of course not! I just seek the truth of who I am and what is happening," I denied vehemently. Seeing his glare soften, I, myself, calmed down.

"It's relieving to hear, I'd hate to have to eliminate such a promising young man as yourself," he said, no malice in his voice, but the words were creepy, man.

**[Yeah, no duh. It's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable.]**

"Ahem… Uh… thanks?" I said awkwardly, ignoring the annoying text box in front of me. The man put down his mug.

"However, I do believe we should discuss those text boxes that keep popping up with snarky remarks," he said, motioning towards the blue square.

**[Wow! This guy can see me!]**

"Yes, I can, and I feel bad for this young man," the shock must've been visible on my face, as he waved his hand in my face to pull me back to the conversation.

"Look, from what I can tell, it's some sort of ability that make my life and body act as a game. Maybe it can explain itself?" I had a twinge of hope, really wanting an explanation.

**[Well, I'm basically a modifier to make this poor saps life in this world easier. I negate wounds and instead make it so that he has Health Points. Obviously, if those reach 0, he's done, and I go with him. I make it so he can modify his "stats", increase his strength, make him faster, smarter, make magic attacks work better, the whole shtick. And, for some real bullshit I can pull, I make it so he can learn skills by just thinking of them. Granted, he has to practice them to make them work properly and increase their power. Not just those absolutely broken advantages, he can use me to store items in a pocket dimension. Oh, and I make those demon things drop money and pieces of the bodies. Call me… The Game, and he's the Gamer.]**

"That's a lot to absorb. Now, I'm especially glad that you aren't an enemy. And fret not about others seeing these boxes. I can only see them due to… _special_ reasons I shant disclose here," Ozpin said with a smile, reaching his hand out. "I will, however, offer you a chance to build up this power to help against the threat of the Grimm- the "demon things", as The Game called them."

I thought about it for a moment, weighing my options. '_I have nowhere to go, I know literally nothing about the world around me… I guess this is my only choice.'_ "I accept your proposition," I reached my hand out to shake his, sealing the deal.

"Consider yourself a new student at my academy," Ozpin shook my hand.

"Can I keep my uniform?"

"... I suppose, as it's really the only thing you have, well, besides that katana."

"Thanks, Ozpin," I nodded. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Ozpin and I turned to it.

"Come in, Glynda," the grey haired man said. Not a moment later, the door opened, the blonde woman from before entering the room, frown on her face. She handed Ozpin a paper. He took a glance at it, then adjusted his glasses.

"Thank you, Glynda," he said, handing back the paper, "However, this young man is not a threat. I have offered him a spot at our acade-"

"You _what_?" she cut him off, glaring at me. "We know nothing of him, and you think it's a good idea to welcome him into Beacon?" she harshly dedicated to Ozpin, who waved her off.

"Trust me, Ms Goodwitch, I see potential in this boy," he said nonchalantly. "Please, go get the Bullhead ready for departure."

The woman sighed before nodding and exiting the room.

"Welcome to your new home, Yu."

* * *

About an hour later we landed in Beacon. '_This place is massive!'_ I thought, seeing the sheer size of the school. The doors of the Bullhead opened, with Ozpin motioning to follow him out we entered the courtyard.

"Welcome to Beacon, Mr Narukami," Ozpin said with pride, much to the chagrin of the blonde witch.

"Yes, welcome," Glynda mumbled unenthusiastically.

"Follow me, will you? I'll lead you to your room. Be sure to rest well, initiation is tomorrow. I'll have Glynda show you the way tomorrow," the man instructed. "Also, here is a Scroll," he handed me a clear slab. I took it and inspected it. Accidentally hitting something, it lit up. "It will run you through a course of how to use it, so just wait until you're situated in the dorms."

"Got it. Thank you, again," I nodded.

"No worries. Now, we must continue onward."

We walked down a nicely paved walkway with grass on either side. A light wind would blow in our direction every so often. I could hear the crickets making sound in the bushes that were off to the left. Quietly, we strolled under the night sky, lit only by the moon.

**[For walking for a little bit, your endurance has increased by one, it is now at 8. Congrats, you weakling.]**

'_You just had to ruin that atmospheric moment, huh?'_

After about another five minutes of walking, we finally reached the dorms. Ozpin led me to an empty room with only one bed.

"We didn't order enough beds one year, so we use this to house any guests that may come. It's now yours. Please do try to keep it clean," he said, flicking the lights on. "All other facilities will be pinged on the map on your scroll after you set it up." I nodded in response. I walked over to the bed and placed my sheathed katana against the wall and sat down on the bed. I turned and looked back at Ozpin.

"I think I could get used to this," I joked.

"Well, you should. You will be here for a while," he replied. "I will take my leave now. I'm sure you know how bathrooms work and how to do your laundry. Do rest well," Ozpin turned and left, closing the door behind him.

"Welp. Looks like I'm gonna be here for a while," I said to myself.

**[Yeah, the grey haired dude literally **_**just**_ **said that.]**

I decided to ignore that one and took off my black uniform jacket. I took a sniff at myself and immediately regretted it. "Jeez! I frickin' stink!" I grunted out, folding the jacket. I stopped mid fold as I remembered something. "Hey, Game? You said I have a pocket dimension thingy right?"

**[Uh, yeah? Just say or think the word "inventory" and it should appear as a menu in front of you.]**

"Thanks," I said, putting down the jacket. "**Inventory**," I mumbled. Suddenly, there was a square in front of my face with little cubbies. I noticed that there were a few spare uniforms in it, as well as a t-shirt and some sweatpants. In the bottom corner, there was a little box that said "Money" with 400 next to it. '_That's convenient,'_ I mused before tapping on one of the spare uniforms. It materialised out of the menu, and I quickly grabbed it and placed it on the bed. I then tapped the t-shirt and the sweat pants. '_I'll just change into these after my shower.'_

With my clean clothes in hand, I got into the bathroom and started the shower. I undressed and hopped in as soon as the water got hot. I scrubbed myself squeaky clean, using the provided soap and shampoo. '_It's like a hotel… but a school,'_ I thought. Shutting off the water, I exited the shower and dried myself off. Once that was set I changed into my clean clothes and prepped myself to pass out for a while in my new bed.

…

Only to remember I have to set up that Scroll thing. It's a lot like one of those fancy smartphones that someone had… '_Guess names aren't going to be something I can remember as of yet.'_

After an easy tutorial process I plopped my head onto the pillow and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

I woke with a jolt. I was instantly awake, feeling fully rested. I checked the time on my Scroll.

6:07 AM.

'_I still have another 2 hours. Guess I'll get ready for this initiation thing,'_ I thought, getting myself out of bed. I grabbed my uniform and threw it on. I lazily did my hair as I put on my socks. Sliding on my shoes, I decided to go for a short stroll around the campus. Pulling up the map on my Scroll, I pinned a few key locations. The forge, the courtyard, and the cafeteria. I grabbed my katana, tied the scabbard around my waist and left for the cafeteria first.

I opened the door and followed the empty hallways until my nostrils were hit with the faint smell of bacon. I followed the scent until I found myself at the doors of the cafeteria. '_I'm surprised I didn't find anyone. Huh,'_ I shrugged it off and entered the cafeteria. I walked up to the counter and grabbed an omelette and some bacon for breakfast. I seated myself down at one of the many empty seats. I started to chow down on the food, stopping only for a second when I remembered another thing. '_Hey, Game, how do I check my stats and skills and all that?'_ I asked the annoying thing mentally. I was answered by a blue popup.

**[1. Just say Status, and 2. I'm not annoying, I'm obnoxious. Get it right.]**

I rolled my eyes and whispered 'Status'. A new menu popped up.

**[Yu Narukami: Lvl 2 (0/200 xp)]**

**Title: Truth Seeker**

**HP: 150/150**

**MP 75/75**

**SP 200/200**

**Current Persona: Izanagi (Lvl 2)**

**[Stats]**

**St: 5 (+3)**

**Ma: 5 (+2)**

**En: 6 (+2)**

**Ag: 5 (+3)**

**Lu: 5 (+2)**

**In: 8**

**Stat Point: 10 (5 per level)**

**[Skills]**

**Zio Lvl 2/30 (0/10 exp):**

**Inflicts light Elec damage upon target, may paralyze target. Scales with Ma stat.**

**Cost: 15 MP**

**Raikouzan Lvl 1/30 (0/5 exp):**

**Inflicts 20 Elec damage and 30 Phys damage upon target, may paralyze target.**

**Cost: 40 SP**

**Cleave Lvl 1/30 (0/10 exp)**

**Inflicts 50 (+20%) Phys damage upon target via Izanagi's Sword.**

**Cost: 50 SP**

**Rakukaja Lvl MAX:**

**Decreases all damage by 33% upon whoever the User has casted it upon for 5 minutes.**

**Can be casted upon self.**

**Cost: 20 MP**

**Observe Lvl 1/50 (?/? exp)**

**Allows for the user to see the health, aura, and magic parameters of any being within 40 Lvl's of the user. Allows user to see titles and classes within 20 Lvl's of the user. No limit on Name.**

**Sword Proficiency Lvl MAX (Passive):**

**Makes using swords simple to use. Increases base Phys damage with swords by +20%. Critical Hit chance increased by +5%**

**Gamer's Body Lvl MAX (Passive):**

**Allows the Gamer to transfer any physical damage into a numeric value to deduct from his HP. Negates most physical ailments.**

**[Titles]**

**Truth Seeker:**

**Increases perception of lies and increases truthfulness from anyone the Gamer questions.**

**[Close]**

"Oh. That's a lot to take in," I said to myself. After reading everything carefully, I noticed there was a tall red haired girl walking over to me. She was wearing some sort of golden armor. I waved as she got closer. "Hello."

"Oh, uh… hi," she said back. I decided against using observe on here, didn't feel like prying just yet. She sat down across from me and put down her food. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos," she introduced herself, kind of like she had some disdain for her own name.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Yu Narukami," I said, smiling gently. She suddenly became relieved. "You okay?" I asked. She nodded, smiling back, but not with her eyes.

"I'm okay. It's just… ah, nevermind. Sorry," she scratched the back of her neck.

"If you say so," I shrugged. "Anyway, you ready for this initiation?" I asked, pushing my tray to the side.

"Yeah, I heard it can be kind of tough, though," she replied, taking another bite of her eggs.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. Though, it might be better to stick with a partner just in case."

"True, but I doubt we'll have control over such things. I doubt the headmaster will make us be able to choose our partners."

"That does make sense," I said, pulling out my scroll. It was 6:43, so I decided to head out to find the forge. "I need to go see the forge for a bit. It was nice meeting you Pyrrha, I do hope you pass," I said, standing up to leave.

"You too, Narukami. I hope to see you after initiation."

* * *

The forge was just as I expected. It was manned by a large burly man.

"Welcome, kid. What can I do for you with the short amount of time til initiation starts?" he asked.

"Ah, I just need to sharpen my blade," I said, handing him my katana. He took it out of the sheathe and inspected it.

"It's decently made, I'll give you that," he said, running his hand along the blade. "Though, I don't think I've ever seen this metal before. It doesn't feel like anything I've used," he placed the sword down on the counter. "Just a quick sharpening? I don't think it needs that. The blade barely seems dull. Come back when it's actually starting to get stuck inside the bodies of Grimm," he assessed. I grabbed my sword and sheathed it.

"Thanks for telling me. I just figured it needed a sharpening. I don't know how long I've had this, so I figured it would have lost it's edge. I was wrong," I replied. "Thank you. I'll be off to initiation, now."

"Good luck, kid. I'm looking forward to working on that blade."

* * *

"-rriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin's speech was ending just as I made it to the initiation grounds. I made my way to one of the pads.

"Um! How will we land? Do we have a parachute or something?" a tall blonde guy asked a ways down from me.

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy," Ozpin replied. He then launched the blonde off the cliff using the pad.

"WHY MEEEEeeee…" I heard the man yell as he fell down into the trees. Pyrrha was sent out right after him. I nodded to Ozpin and then I was launched, too.

As I flew into the trees, I summoned Izanagi as discreetly as one can summon a god from inside oneself. Izanagi caught my fall, and then receded back into my soul. I looked around and unsheathed my blade, searching for any enemies nearby. I dashed off in the direction I thought was north towards the relics. Hearing a rustle to the left of me, I summoned Izanagi once more and prepared myself to dodge an attack. Almost instantly, a large bear-like beast lunged at me, it's claws grazing my face as I dodged.

**[That's gonna do you about 3 HP, since it wasn't a bad cut. 147/150 HP.]**

'_Not bad for a beast. Observe!'_

**[Gerard the Ursa Minor]**

**[Lvl 5]**

**[HP 200/200]**

**[MP 0/0]**

**[SP ?/?]**

'_Not that tough,'_ I thought as I dodged another swipe from Gerard. Seeing my chance, I swung my sword upwards, wounding the beast.

**[-25 HP]**

Gerard roared in anger and pain. I took another chance. "Raikouzan!" I shouted, feeling a small drain on myself as my blade became imbued with blue electricity. I stabbed into the head of the beast, inflicting a critical hit and paralyzing the Grimm, leaving it open for yet another attack. "Izanagi! Zio!" I called upon my Persona, unleashing a lightning shock from his hand, killing Gerard.

**[-100 HP]**

**[-75 HP]**

I panted slightly, feeling the drain on myself. '_I need to level this stuff up or I'm in big trouble,'_ I thought, checking my status.

**[You've got 60 MP and 160 SP left. Be careful.]**

"Oh, so _now_ you're nice," I grumbled, dusting myself off.

**[Hey, man, screw you. I was gonna be all proud of you for killing an Ursa Minor, but noooo. You gotta be a dick, huh? Y'know what? Just for that, I'm cutting the XP you got from this by 20%. You gimped yourself out of a Level up. Anyway, you got 160 XP from that fight, 500 lien (Total is now 900 in inventory), a Counter skill card, and an Ursa fang. Be happy I didn't cut the drops or the money.]**

"Sorry, sorry," I mumbled, annoyed that I didn't level up. I shook my head and continued towards the relics.

I'm not gonna fail this.

* * *

**A/N: AAAAND I'M BACK, BABY. Well, not really. It's just this whole quarantine crap got my creative juices flowing. 3.5k words for a chapter isn't bad at all, considering my track record. Moving on, I hope this still gets traction. **

Edit: I was wrong, Persona x RWBY _IS_ a thing. I genuinely didn't know that.

**So yeah, hope you liked it.**

**Dumbass,**

**TWaK.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, and welcome to the third installment in this story. Uhh… yeah. I dunno what else to say besides my bad for not realizing that Persona X RWBY crossovers are a thing. I genuinely didn't know. **

**Oh, and that one guy who said I should take out the Gamer elements… Uh… Kinda, y'know… **_**CAN'T.**_ **The entire story's premise would be screwed. Look, if you wanna write a story like this but take out the Gamer stuff, be my guest, but this story is something I wanna do.**

**Anyway, on with the patch notes (I'll be doing these as heads up for readers):**

**Added: Elemental Strengths, Weaknesses, and Nullifiers.**

**Added: Quests.**

**Added: Food and Rest Buffs.**

**Added: Compass.**

**Removed: Need for Sleep or Food.**

**Skill changes: Observe no longer needs to be activated to see Name and Level. Those fall under the Passive form of Observe. **

**Balanced: SP usage.**

**[Close]**

* * *

I kept sprinting towards what I thought was North. '_This is the right way, right?'_ I wondered, hoping I was.

**[Update! Update! My creator has blessed your sorry ass with a compass that is always in your peripheral vision. So... thank him for that, because personally, I find you running in the wrong direction amusing. Also, there are some patch notes you'll want to read.]**

I looked at the box as I slowed down to a stop. Following what the Game said, I checked the compass that it had mentioned… "Of course," I sighed. I was heading East this entire time, a good 10 minutes _wasted_.

**[If it makes you feel any better, he's forcing me to give you a Quest for this initiation. You uh… won't like the failure parameters.]**

**[New Quest!]**

"**Beacon's Unique Initiate"**

**Requirements: Pass the Initiation Test.**

**Rewards: +400 XP, Skill Card (weak), +5 Bond with **_**?**_

**Failure: Possible death, exilement from Beacon, -50 Bond with **_**?**_

**Failure to Accept: Instant death (yes, I'm serious.)**

**Accept?**

**[Y/N]**

I facepalmed as I read the parameters. '_Of course failing to accept this would lead to death. What else could there possibly be?'_ I mused sarcastically, '_Also, who is this ? person… I guess I'll learn in due time.'_ "I don't think I really have a choice here. So, I'll go with yes. I accept the quest." I spoke out, the blue text box turning green before dissipating

**[It'd be a shame if you gave up so early on, especially since I'm tied to you. You go, I go. Pretty bad deal, if you ask me.]** the box decided to quip.

"_Really_, a bad deal for _you_? Yeah, okay, sure," I rolled my eyes before correcting my direction. '_This time, I'll actually be heading North.'_ I started to sprint towards the goal, another text box appeared. "What could you possibly want now, Game?"

**[For balancing reasons, the Skill "Sprint" has been added to your arsenal. Basically you use 2 SP for every second of sprinting. Can't have you running at full speed all the time, can we? That'd be **_**waayy**_ **too convenient for you.]**

I shifted my focus from reading the box and continued. I had 160 SP, so I should be able to spring for another 30 seconds without using too much of my Stamina. "Ping me when I reach 100 SP, please," I asked/commanded.

**[You got it.]**

I kept running through the more open sections of the forest, a cool breeze would pass every few seconds, covering any sound that could be made by an approaching beast. '_They're called Grimm, I'm pretty sure,'_ I tried to make a mental note of that. Zoning out, I pressed forward, a decently sized opening just up ahead.

**[BEEEEEEEP. Your stamina is at 100. Right on time, just as you asked.]**

I glanced at the box before slowing down to a walking pace. "Thanks, Gam-" I didn't get to finish the sentence, as a yell overpowered what I was saying.

"LOOK OUT BELOOOOW!" a high pitched voice reverberated off the trees. I quickly looked up to see a black haired girl falling from the sky. I couldn't move fast enough to try to catch her, as she hit the ground with a 'BOOM'. The dust cleared and I was pleasantly surprised to see a completely unharmed girl in a crater. As I got closer, I saw the worried look she had on her face.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked from the edge of the freshly made hold in the ground, looking down onto the girl. She sprung up, seemingly startled by me.

"Um! MypartnerandIwereridinganevermorebecauseweneededtoreachthetempleintimeandnowshe'sstuckpleasehelp!" she spattered out, not even taking a moment to breathe. I looked at her as if she had three heads before I pieced it together. I nodded back at her.

**[New Quest!]**

"**Help a Rose Without Thorns"**

**Requirements: Help the girl save her partner**

**Rewards: +40 XP, +5 Bond with Girl in Red, +1 Bond with the Girl's Partner**

**Failure: Possible death, Death of Girl and her partner**

**Failure to Accept: None. They'll figure it out… right?**

**Accept?**

**[Y/N]**

"Okay…" I accepted the quest, taking a deep breath. "Izanagi!" I shouted, calling upon my Persona. I didn't have time to notice the shocked stare of the girl in red. Without hesitation, my projection grabbed hold of me and we flew rup, right below the massive black bird-like Grimm. I took notice of the girl's partner. She liked the color white… a lot. Her hair? White. Her Clothing? White? Her weapon? WHITE. "Hey! You, there, in the white!" I called out, getting her attention. She snapped her head towards me, confused. "We don't have time! Jump!" I shouted, Izanagi reaching out his spare hand. The girl had her mouth hung open, still in shock. In a moment of frustration, Izanagi plucked her off the back of the beast. I snapped my fingers in front of her face as we plunged down towards the ground, dodging the easily avoidable of the attacks from the giant raven. My Persona placed the white-loving girl on the ground as we prepared ourselves to take on the bird.

Just as I was about to activate Zio, a loud gunshot rang out from behind me. The black beast stopped moving midair, plummeting towards the leaf cover of the trees. I turned around to see the girl in the red cloak relaxing her aim of what seemed to be a... sniper-rife-scythe-thing?

**[You didn't get the kill, so no rewards for you.]**

I didn't have a chance to say anything before the smaller girl ran up to me, leaving a trail of rose peta- '_Ohhhhh, that's why the quest was called that!'_ I snorted mentally at the terrible pun.

"That was so cool! How'd you do that?! You were all like "Iza-something" and then a cool costume guy came outta nowhere!" She asked quite excitedly, bouncing up and down seemingly accentuating the fact she was excited. I peaked over the short haired girl to glance at the white haired girl, only to be forced to have my attention drawn to the red-loving girl. '_I should probably use observe, shouldn't I?'_ I mentally asked, blocking out the barrage of questions.

**[Oh, about that, I forgot to turn it on, but you can always passively see names and levels. Well, if within the parameters of the Observe skill, that is.]** I saw the box say, instantly the names and levels popped up, floating above their heads. 'Ruby Rose (Lvl 19)' was what lingered over the small, red girl. The other read out 'Weiss Schnee'. '_No level. Better try my best and not mess things up for myself,'_ I noted before coming back to reality.

"-and… hey! You're ignoring me, aren't you!" Ruby pouted.

**[-1 Bond with Ruby Rose (-1/200)]**

"Oh! Um! Sorry, I was just thinking about how to answer some of your questions without seeming crazy," I lied through my teeth. '_Real smooth for a guy given the title "Truth Seeker",'_ I berated myself.

**[+2 Bond with Ruby Rose (1/200)]**

"Oooh, okay! That makes sense, I guess. Soooo, does it have to do with your Semblance?" she perked up and immediately smacked me with a question.

"Um… I think so. I kinda just know how to do it. And his name is Izanagi, he's like a representation of my soul, or something," I tried to explain, scratching my cheek with my finger.

"Ah, I see, I see," Ruby said, getting into a thinking pose for a few seconds. She sprung out of it with "Oh!" and rushed over to Weiss, dragging her over to me. "This, here, is Weiss Schnee, and I'm Ruby Rose!" she introduced, shooting me a toothy grin. "Weiss, say hi," she pushed the taller girl towards me, who finally decided to wake up from her stupor… Only to shout at me.

"How dare you do that to me! Grabbing me, when I had total control over the situatio-"

"You were clinging to that thing for dear life," I corrected, which made her stop her tirade. "What exactly was the plan you had, if you had it under control?" I asked, a little frustrated.

**[-2 Bond with Weiss Schnee (-2/200). You're gonna watch your words with this one.]**

"Excuse me?! How rude of you to talk to the heiress of the SDC!" she screeched, pointing at me with anger in her eyes. I stared back with a dull look.

"Ruby and I literally just saved you. The rude one is you," I retorted, deadpan. This statement caused her to sputter a little before hanging her head low.

"...orry…" she muttered, barely intelligible. I sighed.

"It's okay, just be nicer, please."

**[+2 Bond with Weiss Schnee (0/200)]**

"Anyway, let's stick together until we reach the artifacts, yeah?" I offered, turning towards Ruby, who now seemed pumped.

"Sounds like a deal!" the young Rose agreed.

**[Quest Complete!]**

"**Help a Rose Without Thorns"**

**Rewards: +40 XP, +5 Bond with Ruby Rose (6/200), +1 Bond with Weiss Schnee (1/200)**

**[Close]**

**[Level Up! You and Izanagi are now Level 3!]**

**[Stat points gained: 5]**

* * *

"How in the world did we end up being the accidental distraction for a massive scorpion!?" I shouted, dodging the Grimm's stinger, knowing I'd be done if I get caught with that. Rolling on my landing, I took a slice at the tail, dealing a pitiful 15 damage.

"I don't know, but keep trying to get it to use its claws! Ruby should be able to chip away at it's armor!" the blonde haired boy who we had saved shouted from the trees. I nodded at Weiss and Pyrrha, who nodded back. We quickly closed the distance between us and the black monster. I took a cursory glance at the tag above the beast's head.

**[Jonas the Deathstalker]**

**[Lvl 12]**

**[HP 685/700]**

**[MP 0/0]**

**[SP ?/?]**

"Hya!" I lunged at Jonas, planning on at least chipping a small bit of the bone armor. My blade managed to pierce the outer armor of the right claw. I quickly retreated, using the claw as a base to jump off of, allowing for Weiss and Pyrrha to follow up. "Up to you!" I shouted as I fell back.

**[-50 HP to Jonas (635/700)]**

"Got it!" Pyrrha yelled, slicing her golden sword across the claw, missing the gap I had made. "Dammit!" she grunted, also falling back. "Weiss!"

"Already on it," she said calmly, her glyphs lining up in front of her rapier. Suddenly a large fire shot blasted out from the blade. The shot caused Jonas to move his claw and expose the weaker bone on his head.

"Ruby!" the blonde boy exclaimed, with the girl firing a standard round into the skull, cracking it and leaving a weak spot. She was about to fire a second shot, but an orange haired girl came in, riding an Ursa, using it as a battering ram into the scorpion.

**[Ooo.. that's gotta hurt. Jonas is down to 300. Also, be sure to try elemental attacks. These beasts do have weaknesses.]**

The orange haired girl, who was named Nora, according to the tag above her head, jumped off the Ursa with a whine. "Aww… I broke it," she said in a sad tone. A black haired boy suddenly appeared next to her, panting.

"Nora… never again…" he managed to get out. Ren was his name.

"Guys, we don't have time to sit around! There is still a deathstalker here!" Blondie yelled. '_Now that I think about it, what's his name?'_ I checked. It was Jaune.

"What he said! Scatter, that thing is still alive!" I shouted, too. This prompted the two newcomers to join up with us as Jonas regained his footing, his 10 eyes now full of even more rage… and then a bombastic blonde woman and a bow-wearing black haired woman showed up. The blonde decided it'd be a good idea to punch the ugly thing right on it's head. A moment went by with not a sound or action.

"Gotta come in with a _Yang!_" the blonde snickered, a shotgun blast coming straight out of her gauntlet, the recoil causing her to go flying towards our group. The bow-wearing one firing a few shots from her pistol-like weapon at the scorpion, using some sort of ninja cloning technique to dodge the tail of Jonas.

**[Now's your chance, Jonas is at 75. Kill it.]**

"It's my turn!" I shouted, catching everyone's attention. "_Izanagi!"_ I chanted as I crushed the floating Tarot card in front of me. Blue wisps of flame shot out around me as the Shinto god came to form. Outstretching my arm, I activated the best skill I had. "Zio!" I yelled. Without a moment wasted, Izanagi reached his hand out towards the deathstalker. Out of his hand shot a bolt of blue electricity, slamming down on the beast. A moment passed, with the smell of fried Grimm filling the air. Jonas' HP hit 0.

**[Good kill. Just for you, I'll give you +1000 XP, Jonas' Stinger, and 800 Lien. Anyway, have fun explaining your powers.]**

**[Level Up x 2! You and Izanagi are now Level 5! Current XP: 300/500 XP]**

**[Stat points gained: 10]**

* * *

**AAAAND done. Third chapter out of the way. Next chapter will be longer, I think. I'll have more stuff to work with. I know I changed stuff, but hey, this is **_**my**_ **story. **

**Also, I received a PM about this: I do plan on using the Velvet Room, just not after every chapter. I used it in the first one just to give some exposition. It'll function like the game. Fusions and all that stuff.**

**Anyway, please Review!**

**-TWaK**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yup. I'm here. If you're curious, I usually try (keyword is **_**TRY**_**) to write a chapter a night [edit: I haven't worked on this in nearly a month. Got distracted with work and hobbies]. Takes about 3-4 hours depending on if I get distracted. Also! I'm adding Yu's stats to the end of the chapter.**

**(Massive decrease in wordcount because I couldn't think of anything to add to this chapter. I don't want to use a time skip, but I _really_ do not feel like doing a lot of the first 3-4 episodes. I remember very little...)**

** Anyway, on with patch notes:**

**Added: Standard stat growths. New equipment "slots" in inventory, objects that have stat boosts can be placed here. Slow Regen for all parameters. Stat Points can be put into skills.**

**Balance: Critical hits (both to and dealt by User) are now exactly 3x base damage. Stacks with dual-type attacks that incorporate both Phys and Elemental, with the Phys damage doing 3x damage, while the Elemental will not gain any multiplier unless it is the enemy's Weakness. This **_**specifically**_ **does not apply to Elemental Weakness exploitation, only Phys Crits. **

**[Close]**

* * *

"So, basically, this being-"

"Izanagi."

"Yes, him, is a manifestation of your soul?" Pyrrha asked slowly, making sure she got it.

"Pretty much, I can wield more, but I don't know how quite yet," I explained bashfully, scratching the back of my neck. The looks I was getting… The slackjaw stares from the more animated people in our little group. Pyrrha rubbed her temples in frustration.

"You do realize this ability completely throws out any preconceived knowledge of how Aura and Semblances work, right?" Blake chimed in, clearly done with this. Yang nodded in agreement. I just looked back at the bow wearing girl and tilted my head.

"Uh… what are either of those...?" I questioned, much to the chagrin of all except Jaune.

"See! I knew I wasn't the only one who didn't know!" he shouted, pointing at me in a dramatic pose, with his view quickly flicking between me and the red haired Spartan.

"But at least he had his unlocked before this… I think," said redhead quipped, now directing her attention back at me. "Aura is the manifestation of the soul, like Izanagi, only ours doesn't become a separate being. Aura is used as a defense, as well as a weapon with some Semblances," she lectured.

"And Semblances are powers unique to a person or bloodline. These feed off Aura and are usually difficult to master," Weiss barged in. "With that being said, you simply _existing_ is a crime against natural law," she finished, no ill intent behind the comment.

**[Hah, she got you good. Even if she didn't mean it as an insult, that was a pretty good burn.]** The Game popped up.

'_Hush, you,'_ I mentally retorted. "Well, I don't exactly know how else to explain it. Anyway, we still have to pass this test, right?" I asked, hoping to change the subject. Thankfully, it worked, with the group all nodding, deciding to save questions for later. Well… except for Blake, who didn't lift her gaze off me until we started moving. '_I can already tell that she'll want answers immediately…'_

* * *

"Think we found it!" Ruby yelled to the group as we stumbled upon a clearing with some ruins in the center, a chessboard laid out inside. I noticed that most of the pieces had been taken already, only the four Knights remained.

"Renny! I want the pretty pony!" The excitable, and short, Nora exclaimed. She grabbed the first 'Relic', one of the white Knights. Pyrrha and Jaune shrugged after glancing at each other, deciding to take the remaining one.

"I guess we'll take the ones that are as black as _knight_," Yang joked, looking quite proud of herself. A loud groan came from Ruby.

"_Yaaaaaaaaaang_," the younger sister whined as Weiss took the last piece. It took a second for the rest of the group to realize, but there were no other pieces.

"This is unfortunate. There seems to be a lack in pieces," Ren said.

"I see that…" I stroked my imaginary beard, trying to think of something, when something caught my eye. There was a shogi piece lying off to the side. I walked over to it and picked it up. "Maybe he'll accept this?" I wondered aloud as I inspected the piece. It was the Gold General. '_I mean, shogi is kind of like chess, right?'_

**[Let's hope so, or else we're both done for. The quest did say that if you fail you're dead.]**

'_Fuck.'_

* * *

It was a while before we arrived back at Beacon. My rag-tag group had split up, all of the pairs of two going in their own direction. Much to my delight, I hadn't exploded into guts and gore upon reaching the academy. '_Hey, game, did I pass?'_

**[I don't know. You'll have to wait for Ozpin to tell yo- Speak of the devil.]**

I looked up from the box, seeing my fellow grey haired man. He looked me in the eye and only said one thing before turning around. "You pass."

**[DING DING DING. WOOO! We don't get to die!]**

"Thank god. I don't think my bear-y small heart could take it…" I said, unintentionally using a horrible bear pun. "Uh… let's just skip over that. Anyway, can you display that 'Quest Complete' screen?"

**[Oh, right.]**

**[Quest Complete!]**

"**Beacon's Unique Initiate'**

**Rewards: +400 XP, Kouha Skill Card, +5 Bond with **_**?**_

**[Close]**

**[Level Up! You and Izanagi are now Level 6! Current XP: 200/600 XP]**

**[Skill points gained: 5]**

**[Close]**

I admired the screens for a second, still curious on this question mark person. I tapped close before opening my Stat menu.

**[Yu Narukami: Lvl 6 (200/600 XP)]**

**Title: Truth Seeker**

**HP: 350/350 (+5 every minute)**

**MP 175/175 (+5 every 2 minutes)**

**SP 200/200 (+5 every minute)**

**Current Persona: Izanagi (Lvl 6)**

**[Stats]**

**St: 5 (+7)**

**Ma: 5 (+8)**

**En: 6 (+4)**

**Ag: 5 (+5)**

**Lu: 5 (+4)**

**In: 8**

**Stat Point: 30 (+5 per level)**

**[Close]**

'_I know, I'm stupid, but how do I use Stat Points and Skill Cards?'_ I asked the Game, hoping to not get a snarky remark.

**[You know damn well I'm gonna be an ass as I explain this. Basically just tap on the stat you want to increase with your points. As for skill cards, open your inventory and then you just do what you think you do.]**

I shrugged. Looking back at my stats, I decided to increase my St by 6, hoping that it would make it easier to cut through the ridiculously tough bone armor on Grimm. '_Yeah… next,'_ I said mentally, adding 8 to my Ma stat. '_Gotta make __Zio_ _as broken as I can…'_ I hummed, thinking about what else I could do. '_Maybe En? That could help with my Stamina recovery, as well as my defense,'_ I proceeded to dump 10 into En.

**[I should also mention that you can put Stat Points into skills, if you really want.]**

I nodded, closing out of my Stat screen. '_I'll have a look at these Skill Cards I got, first. Inventory!'_ I ordered. My pocket dimension showed up, all the new pretty items sitting in their cubbies. I tapped on the Counter Skill Card, the description popping up.

**[Counter (Passive): User now has a permanent 10% chance of countering any Phys attack afflicted to User. Depends on how powerful the original attack is.]**

**[Learn?]**

**[Y/N]**

'_That could be pretty useful…' _I gave it no second thought, hitting Y.

**[New Skill! Counter!]**

**[Close]**

I then tapped on the Kouha Skill Card.

**[Kouha: Inflicts light Bless damage upon target. Scales with Ma stat. Cost is 15 MP]**

**[Learn?]**

**[Y/N]**

I hit yes, again, needing another Elemental attack. '_Electric is great and all, but I'm thinking Grimm might be weak to Bless…'_

**[New Skill! Kouha!]**

**[Close]**

With all that said and done, I closed out of my inventory and headed off towards the auditorium. It was team assignment time, and I didn't exactly want to be late, now did I?

* * *

**So uhh…. Hi. Sorry. Fuck, shit, dammit. I got caught up with a lot of shit, so I didn't have the time or the mentality to write. Still kinda don't, but that's… okay? I don't know. Look, all I can say is that painting and building tiny robots from Japan takes precedence over this story.**

**Not only that, but I'm also having issues with remembering the early episodes of RWBY properly. I'm going to have to rewatch it if I'm going to make this be all prim and proper… **_**sigh**_**.**

**If there was someone I worked alongside that could help me with ideas and keeping a decent schedule, I'd take it in a heartbeat… well, actually… I don't know. Starting my second job in less than 48 Hours of uploading this… Time is gonna be sparse.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and leaving your reviews. I do read them all, as they pop up in my email. I might respond via DM's for a few, I'm not sure.**

**See ya 'round!**

… **oh wait. Stats… hold on… and no, I'm not listing skills, bonds, titles and all that… I'm lazy, so… ha. I win.**

**[Yu Narukami: Lvl 6 (200/600 XP)]**

**Title: Truth Seeker**

**HP: 350/350 (+5 every minute)**

**MP 175/175 (+5 every 2 minutes)**

**SP 200/200 (+5 every minute)**

**Current Persona: Izanagi (Lvl 6)**

**[Stats]**

**St: 11 (+7)**

**Ma: 13 (+8)**

**En: 16 (+4)**

**Ag: 5 (+5)**

**Lu: 5 (+4)**

**In: 8**

**Stat Point: 6 (+5 per level)**

**[Close]**


End file.
